About S.T.E.A.M. SchoolS.T.E.A.M. School is an Indo-French partnership programme driven at shaping tomorrow's India. This programme offers 100% scholarships for the ideal candidates along with a certificate of completion. It is an initiative to encourage hands on education for social change.S.T.E.A.M. stands for Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics. These areas of education are the primary focus of this programme. We will use them to look at global challenges with local perspective. There will be project based learning in designing, prototyping and testing techniques. Participants will choose from existing Urban Challenges driven by UN's Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. This programme gives you a unique opportunity to indulge in creative learning through Design thinking, Rapid Prototyping, 3D Printing, Electronics / IoT and AR/VR.We have designed the programme in such a way that if you wish to develop a product in the area of the given challenges, we will train you in the skills you need to build your prototype. This will enable you to solve real world problems through prototyping and learning. We will also provide you with support after the program if you wish to take your product development to the next level.

Who Should ApplyAre you someone with the bent of mind for problem solving? Do you have the commitment to struggle with your problem till your Eureka moment? Do you have demonstrable work done in the development space to share with us? Are you able to learn and adapt to challenges? If the answer to these questions is 'yes' then this programme is for you. An ideal participant in this program would be either experienced or passionate about working in sectors related to the given challenges. It could also be someone who wants to work towards product development for social change. This programme will bring together people from various aspects of civil society. It will be an opportunity for you to collaborate with design and architecture graduates, social scientists and engineers among others.

Dairy Sector in India: Opportunities in Key States and Productsby Netherlands Embassy in New Delhi and YES Bank, October 2016.

MessageOver the past 50 years, the diary sector in the Netherlands has seen incredible transformation. In the 1960s, the average dairy-producing farm had approximately 9 cows, which is quite similar to the current situation in many parts of India. The two decades thereafter saw a shift from mixed farming to specialized farming; which continues to this day. As a result of this farm intensification, the average Dutch dairy farm has approximately 70 animals today; a staggering increase of more than 630%!Factors such as mechanization and the high use of inputs such as fertilizers and feed have all played their role in this astounding transformation.The dairy sector in the Netherlands is the story of self-organization, accepting challenges, adapting to the need of the market and a dramatic transformation in a single generation. The so-called 'Approach of the Netherlands' where the private sector, Government, and research institutes work together on innovative solutions.Whilst the increase in productivity has been an important factor in the Dutch dairy industry, sustainably increasing production is of even greater importance. The mantra of the Sustainable Dairy Chain goes "If you can't measure it you can't manage it." The different stakeholders of the Sustainable Dairy Chain emphasize the following goals: the Dutch dairy chain targets a 20% reduction in greenhouses gases by 2020, the improvement in livestock health and welfare, preservation of grazing, and the protecting biodiversity and the environment. All are goals that the stakeholders strive to attain to ensure the Dairy Chain becomes more sustainable.The Indian dairy sector is very diverse and at the same time, is at different stages of development in different parts of the country. India has some very well organized co-operatives, foreign and domestic companies. How they develop their supply chains and product lines varies from player to player. Then there are also the government organizations which have their own programs for small scale farmers. All have their different challenges.This study is a joint effort of the Agriculture Department of the Embassy of Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Delhi and Yes Bank reflecting on the recent developments that have undergone in the sector of dairy focusing on states like Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and Maharashtra. I congratulate YES BANK for their dedicated efforts in bringing out this volume whose work shaped this piece. We have no doubt it will be useful to policy analysts, policymakers, the research & development community at large. This study will also help to achieve commercial success by collaborating on mutually identified development projects & will contribute to respective bilateral goals for both India and Netherlands.

ForewordIndia is the world's largest dairy producer, with 156 Mn MT of annual milk production, contributing over 18 % of global production. Dairy is Indian agriculture's single largest sub sector in value terms, generating annual revenue of over USD 70 Bn. Demographic dividend, changing lifestyle patterns, rise in disposable incomes, structural food habit changes and improved health consciousness are key growth drivers fuelling development of the dairy industry in India.Multiple opportunities exist in India, across the post-production dairy value chain, in areas of storage, procurement, processing and packaging technologies. These opportunities offer tremendous scope for technology suppliers, processors and service providers to tap into one of the world's largest dairy markets. While, at the backend, private and cooperative dairy processors are actively investing in procurement infrastructure for consistent availability of good quality milk, at the front, the industry is rapidly diversifying into high-margin, value-added dairy products such as cheese, Ultra High Temperature (UHT) milk, ice cream and flavoured milk. This YES BANK - Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands study 'Dairy Sector in India: Opportunities in Key States and Products' provides an in-depth overview of the Indian dairy market and captures key potential opportunities across the post-harvest dairy value chain, both in terms of geographical as well as product-based opportunities. Additionally, the study profiles the milk production scenario, value chain structure, processing infrastructure scenario as well as recent developments and opportunities in key States of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra. On the product front, cheese and UHT milk have been profiled in detail across market opportunity, competitive landscaping, products variants, key trends & key product technology suppliers fronts.I am confident that the study will be of immense value to the Dutch dairy industry in recognizing the vast potential of India's dairy market, thereby enabling strong partnership opportunities between India and the Netherlands in the sector. Sincerely,

Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) invites applications for the Award of Fellowships for advanced research in the following areas (ref. advertisement no. 05/2016):

(a) Social, Political and Economic Philosophy;(b) Comparative Indian Literature (Including Ancient, Medieval, Modem Folk and Tribal);(c) Comparative Studies In Philosophy and Religion;(d) Comparative Studies in History (Including Historiography and Philosophy of History);(e) Education, Culture, Arts including performing Arts and Crafts;(f) Fundamental Concepts and Problems of Logic and Mathematics;(g) Fundamental Concepts and Problems of Natural and Life Sciences;(h) Studies In Environment;(I) Indian Civilization in the context of Asian Neighbours; and(j) Problems of Contemporary India in the context of National Integration and Nation-building.

For details please visit IIAS website: http://www.iias.org. The prescribed application form can be downloaded from this website of the Institute. Applications on the prescribed form may be sent to the Secretary, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla-171005. Applications can also be made online. Only applications in the prescribed application form would be considered by the Institute. Applications must reach the institute by 30th November 2016.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All.A World Bank Group Flagship Report, Comparing Business Regulation for Domestic Firms in 190 Economies. by World Bank Group, New York, 2016. ISBN: 9781464809484.

SummaryDoing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All, a World Bank Group flagship publication, is the 14th in a series of annual reports measuring the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time.Doing Business measures regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures labor market regulation, which is not included in this year's ranking.Data in Doing Business 2017 are current as of June 1, 2016. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why.

Main Findings

Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All finds that entrepreneurs in 137 economies saw improvements in their local regulatory framework last year. Between June 2015 and June 2016, the report, which measures 190 economies worldwide, documented 283 business reforms. Reforms reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes in the area of starting a business were the most common in 2015/16, as in the previous year. The next most common reforms were in the areas of paying taxes, getting credit and trading across borders.Read about business reforms.

Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Belarus, Indonesia, Serbia, Georgia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain were the most improved economies in 2015/16 in areas tracked by Doing Business. Together, these 10 top improvers implemented 48 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business.

Economies in all regions are implementing reforms easing the process of doing business, but Europe and Central Asia continues to be the region with the highest share of economies implementing at least one reform—96% of economies in the region have implemented at least one business regulatory reform.

Doing Business includes a gender dimension in four of the 11 topics sets. Starting a business, registering property and enforcing contracts present a gender dimension for the first time this year. Labor market regulation already captured gender disaggregated data in last year's report.

This year's report also includes an annex with analysis on a pilot indicator on public procurement regulations.

The report features six case studies in the areas of getting electricity, getting credit: legal rights, getting credit: credit information, protecting minority investors, paying taxes and trading across borders as well as two annexes in the areas of labor market regulation and selling to the government. The case studies and annexes either present new indicators or provide further insights from the data collected through methodology changes implemented in the past two years. See all case studies.

Table of Contents

OverviewAbout Doing BusinessReforming the Business Environment in 2015/16Case studies

Science for the Masses: Today in India as many as 833 million Indians, or 69% of the population, live in rural areas, with persisting structural problems such as, agriculture, health, water, sanitation, housing etc. A large part of rural India is looking forward to better times along with the rest of India. On the other hand, having a significant percentage of population in the youth category India's demographic dividend is also a global talking point as well. All these necessitate that, the country continuously strives for growth and development through investment in science and research. In this background, the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Govt. of India and Vijnana Bharati, have planned to organise the 2nd IISF-2016 jointly at CSIR-NPL & IARI campus from December 7-11, 2016.

About IISF 2016
The series of India International Science Festival (IISF) is an integral part of India's long term vision in developing and widening the spectrum of scientific temper in India and abroad. To display India's contribution in the field of S&T and to motivate the young scientists to find solutions to the burning issues of our society; the 1st IISF was held at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi in December, 2015.The festival primarily aimed to involve and include commoners with a view to improve their scientific understanding, temperament and appreciation for various feats in science & technology by showcasing Indian achievements. Indeed, the event was a great success with the participation of more than 3000 young scientists across the country. The mega S&T expo attracted more than 3 Lakh people. VIBHA has become the Guinness Book World Record Holder for the successful conduct of the 'Largest Practical Science Lesson' by 2000 students from prestigious schools of Delhi.

The renown UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize has been renewed for a six-year term, which was decided by the Executive Board at its 200th session this week. The UNESCO Member States also agreed to include digital media in the candidatures.

Punjabi University in Patiala is hosting a three-day interactive training workshop on media and information literacy (MIL) for 25 youth-led organizations and youth leaders in India. This UNESCO-supported capacity building training workshop will empower youth to build and enhance their MIL skills. It is being held from 17 to 19 October 2016.

The Regional Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean UNESCO Memory of the World (MOWLAC) Program will hold its annual meeting from the 24th - 26th October 2016. The meeting will take place in Mar de Plata, Argentina and will be co-hosted by the National University of Mar del Plata (UNMP).

The principal objective of this meeting is to evaluate and determine the 27 proposals sent to the committee this years. The proposals were sent in from 12 different countries from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. During the meeting regional experts will decide on which of the proposals should be included in Regional Register of Documentary Heritage for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since 2002, the regional committee included 125 regional documentary artefacts including documents related to politics, philosophy, literature, music and writings, in a number of formats such as graphics and audio-visual pieces, both regional and national. The Latin American and Caribbean register also includes pieces tha...

Representatives of the press and media councils of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244) participated in the annual meeting of the Alliance of Independent Press Councils in Europe (AIPCE) in Stockholm, 6-7 October 2016. AIPCE is a European network of media self-regulatory bodies.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, and Professor Hao Ping, Vice-Minister of Education of China and Chair of the country's National Commission for UNESCO, on Monday signed an agreement for the relaunch of The UNESCO Courier as a quarterly print and online publication in the six official languages of the United Nations.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Organized by : TERI University in association with NRDMS, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India1-21 December 2016Venue: TERI University, New Delhi

Call for ParticipationNRDMS, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, New Delhi, sponsored 21 Day Training Programme on Geospatial Technologies (Equivalent to Refresher Course) is being organized by Department of Natural Resources, TERI University, from 1 - 21 December 2016. the objective of the programme is a follows:- Impart basic knowledge principles and applications of Geoinformatics- Hands on training through open sources platform- Expert lecture on environment, society, natural resources, climate change and sustainability - key competence of the TERI University- Three to four days project work for participants to use Geospatial techniques in various domain fallow by the expert lecture.

Who can apply?: The NRDMS (DST) training programme is open for participants of colleges/universities faculty; scientists; state/central government officials; disaster management planners, research scholars/ fellows in the field of Geography, Geology, Geophysics, Oceanography, Water resources, Climatology, Atmospheric Science, Environmental Science, Ecology, Economics and secondary school teachers who wish to develop their skills in geospatial technologies. The candidate must be nominated by their respective organization.

How to apply: Interested candidates are required to send duly filled application form and forward the completed application by email to raj@teriuniversity.ac.in or send the application to Dr Vinay S P Sinha, Programme Coordinator, MSc. Geoinformatics, Department of Natural Resources, TERI University, 10 Institutional Area, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110 070, India latest by 1st November 2016. Selected candidates will be informed by 5th November, 2016 either by email or phone.

ForewordAlthough cities occupy only 2 percent of the planet's surface, their inhabitants use 75 percent of its natural resources. The world is urbanizing quickly, too: by 2050, 70 percent of the global population will live in cities and towns. Sustainable urban development is crucial, therefore, for ensuring the quality of life of the world's people. Forests and trees in urban and peri-urban environments, if properly managed, can make important contributions to the planning, design and management of sustainable, resilient landscapes. They can help make cities:

safer – by reducing stormwater runoff and the impacts of wind and sand storms, mitigating the "heat island" effect, and contributing to the adaptation and mitigation of climate change;

more pleasant – by providing space for recreation and venues for social and religious events, and ameliorating weather extremes;

To support the world's cities in reaping the benefits of urban and peri-urban forests, a few years ago FAO initiated a collaborative process to develop voluntary guidelines aimed at optimizing the contributions of forests and trees to sustainable urban development. Scientists, practitioners and public administrators from cities worldwide were brought together in a series of workshops to discuss the elements and key challenges of urban forestry, and a smaller team of experts was assembled to distil this vast knowledge.This document is the ultimate result of that process. It is intended for a global audience, primarily comprising urban decision-makers, civil servants, policy advisors and other stakeholders to assist in developing urban and peri-urban forests as a way of meeting the present and future needs of cities for forest products and ecosystem services. The guidelines will also help increase community awareness of the contributions that trees and forests can make to improving quality of life, and of their essential role in global sustainability.I thank all those involved in producing this document, which, I have no doubt, will help ensure that cities worldwide maintain and enhance the well-being of their citizens and the global environment.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

The Globelics held every year is a premier conference in the innovation area. This year's Globelics Conference held in Bandung Indonesia during 12-14th October. Bundung conference had received 364 papers of which 147 have been selected for the presentation this year. Centre for Studies for Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University performs quite well in this conference. There are altogether 9 papers from the current affiliates and 2 papers from CSSP alumni were selected (altogether 11) from the stringent double blind peer reviews. This number constitutes about 7 percent of total conference accepted and perhaps largest participation from a centre. The accepted papers presented at the conference are as follows:

UNESCO publication takes stock of harmful algae blooms and efforts to mitigate them

Paris, 19 September—UNESCO has published the first ever global compendium on harmful algal blooms (HAB), microorganisms that deplete fish stocks, destroy fish farms and bring disease and death both to humans and to large sea animals.

In a case-by-case review of data on major harmful algal bloom incidents, the publication sounds the alert on increasing trends, as observed, for example, along the coasts of Florida (U.S.A.), where data has been compiled since the mid-19th century, India and Oman. In the Adriatic and Baltic seas, harmful algal incidents are on the increase despite governmental awareness and decisions to restrict the production and discharge of phosphate and other harmful chemicals.

The HAB increase is closely coupled with the intensified exploitation of coastal zones for aquaculture, tourism and other human activities bringing people and resources in contact with toxic microalgae. Also, these activities alter conditions favouring the development of HAB through an overload of nutrients from human waste and chemical runoff, overfishing and increased maritime transport.

Not all is bad news. Decreases have been observed in places where policy decisions led to improvements in the treatment of waste waters and fish-farming technology. The Seto Inland Sea of Japan, where a HABs monitoring programme has been in place for 50 years, is a case in point. Harmful algal incidents in Seto have stabilized at 100 per year, primarily due to national regulations to control nutrient and waste discharge. In many European countries,* HAB reductions are primarily due to management action based on observations and early warnings. Greatly helped by EU legislation since 1991, these countries implemented effective monitoring following severe and extensive poisoning cases during the 1980s.

In its review of the environmental factors, the publication examines in particular the impacts of eutrophication (high concentration of nutrients in the water), overfishing, globalized maritime traffic and climate change.

The new compendium provides data identifying 174 algal and 100 toxin-producing species grouped in 24 chemically different classes responsible for 11 different human health conditions. Over 50 photographic plates illustrate 62 species and the authors of the compendium hope that the work will stimulate further research and the identification of more species.

Available in both English and French, the guide has been designed to be a useful companion to a large audience including fish and shellfish farmers, monitoring agencies and HAB scientists.

The compendium is a joint publication of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae. It was sponsored by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation alongside a number of regional, national and international organizations.